Improvement in brick-machines



at its extremities or its smaller sides.

Y UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

LEWIS KIRK, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRICK-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,580, dated March 4, 1862.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS KIRK, of Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture ot' Bricks and in the Machines or Machinery for Making Bricks; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had toA the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures l and 2 are respectively side and v ing the clay in molds, and machines for making bricks were constructed to carry out the principle of compression of the clay in suitable molds by power applied to rammers or to the movable sides of the mold, whereby the clayis compressed into shape to the requisite degree of consistency and density. Such machines are* seriously defective, for the reason that no means could as yet be devised for the perfect expulsion of the air or for the prevention of What is technically termed catching of the wind. This defect is rendered apparent only upon the bricks being burned or baked, as the imprisoned air is expanded by the effect of heat and separate the partivcles least compressed-t'. e., those in the inte# rior of middle of the brick-and having for effect the production of aky or split bricks.

The object of my invention therefore is to construct a machine for making bricks preparatory to their being burned or baked in kilns or ovens in such a manner as to combine the` following principles of operation: irst, the compression of the clay uniformly throughout its whole mass; second, the expulsion of the air throughout the Whole mass of clay before its being compressed into its ultimate shape; third, the formation of a solid brick of a mass of clay free from airand equally compressed throughout the whole mass when molded along its four larger sides and trim med Before describing the machine bywhich I effect the operation, as hereinabove set forth,

I shall first explain the principle upon which it is constructed. One of the principal peculi arities of argillaceous earthy substances is that when diffused through water they form a mass whose particles, while having great reciprocal aiiinity and adhesion, are eminently plastic and ductile. This peculiarity is illustrated by the fact termed in the arts chambering, and which is availed of byminers for the blasting of rocks. The effect of chambering being well known to me, I have ascertained by experiment and based my invention upon the fact if a given quantity of clay'be placed to fill a cylindrical or prismatical vessel and a power be applied to expel it therefrom or to force it through, the resistance,

owing to the plasticity and ductility of the clay, increases in a certain ratio to the length of the said cylinder or prism. Thus to force clay of the consistency requisite to make bricks through a pipe or tube of the length equal to that of ordinary bricks a power of five horses' (more or less) is necessary, which.

power, being applied to one end and the resistance being derived from all sides surrounding the mass of clay, has the effect of compressing (proportionately to the power) the particles of clay equally, uniformly, and throughout the whole mass, and since the mass of clay is not confined or imprisoned at all sides, but free to issue at the end lof the tube, the air contained therein will be vexpelled as the particles of clay are brought -oloser together. In machines constructed according to this principle the mass is then compressed and is freed from the air it contains and issues at the end of the tube com-,

pacted, and inasmuch as the tube is a hollow prism, the section of which corresponds to the p section of a brick, it is obvious that it will so issue in the form of a series of bricks united at their smaller-ends. I provide for the separation of the individual bricks by employing rotary cutters placed parallel to and at a distance equal the length of a brick from each other, so that by operating them. they will almost instantaneously cut oif and trim the bricks at their ends.`

To enable others skilled in the art to make and 'use my improvements in brick-machinery, I shall nowv proceed to describe its opnstruction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the frame-work, which is here shown as consistng of woodenvposts and braces ofV sufficient itrength to support the machinery and 'to re ad a hopper C, which islirst, to'receive the.

:lay and deliver it to the said reservoir by -)revionsly subjecting Lthe clay to a process of :rituration or pulverization, for which pur- Jose it is provided with a mechanism the :onstruction and operation of 'which are as folows: y l

A grate or series of bars of a peculiar form :representedin detail in Figs. It and 5) is sezuredto the bottom of the'hopper. Each bar D is formed in the shape` of` a segment of a aircle, the center of which may be supposed :o'be located at about one-half the dept-h of :he clay-reservoir, and is provided on top with t projecting tooth E, whose form is such as zooffcr an inclined ridge toward the front of ihe machine and an abrupt or vertical deicent in the rear. Through th'e bottom of ;he hopper and withintheA cavity or under ;he grate or bars described runs a shaft F, set in journalsor boxesat either end or side )f the hopper. This shaft is provided with star-wheels or a series' of dashers G, set parillel to and at such distances from each other sto correspond to the interstices between :he grate-bars ,and at angles in relation to iach other, so that the teeth or dash-blades shalljform a helix around the shaft'. These lashers are made of heavy sheet-iron or other netallic substance and have the symmettical formof stars, and since the shaft upon :vhichthey are mounted'is placedimmedvittely underneath the projectinglteeth of the grate-bars it nis obvious that upon ;rotation seing imparted to the shaft in' the direction )f the arrowjhe edges ofthe dash-blades in front will formangles constantly decreasing From the moment of their coming in apposizion to each other. The clay, being thrown nto the hopperis therefore exposed to a most ;horough,triturating and pulverizingaction, she points of the dashers entering successively, first cutting up and through the mass, zarrying along before them stonesjor con glomirated particles of clay against the teeth of :hegrate-bars. There, by the combined ac- ',ion of the movable dash-bladesand the sta- ;ionary teeth up the bars, the lumps or stone tre. broken up and crushed into fine fragnents and dropped through the gratebars nto the clay-reservoir, while such stones or )ther foreign matter that resist the action of -he triturator are eliminated from the mass )y being carried over the ridge and dropped n masses or lumps down the incline of the grate out of the hopper. Fromthis it will )e understood that the grate should be contructed so`that the spaces between eachbar around the principal pulley H.

Ashallnot exceedthe size of the stones or lumps that it is. necessary to remove from the mass-before being compressed intobricks,

whatever the process' of compression may be. Movement to the dashers is imparted directly from the main shaft J, which receives the power necessary to drive the whole mechanism frorn some steam-engine, water-power,

`or other prime mover, which is or may be geared with the main shaft by passing a belt A The same shaft that carries the pulley H also carries another I, which, having a band or belt in common with the pulley O on the shaft F, imparts motion to the dashers.

The clay thus freed from stones, &c.,is collected in the box .or reservoir B, whence, by a tube P starting site supply of clay, the compressing ofthe clay in and forcing it out of the forming-tube, andthe cutting or trimming ofthe `compressed mass of clay to the proper lengths to constitute building-bricks. i

By referring in the accompanying draw@ ings to Fig. 3, which being a sectional view of the machine bya horizontal plane passing underneath the clay-reservoir, the general arrangement of the machinery will be seen. To the'shaft U a double crank V V is applied, the pin of which passes through the head of i we" the connecting-rod W, that is attached by t means of sliding blocks Z, Working in guides or slides X, to the plunger Y, which, though tting snugly, has a free reciprocating play in the clay-chest Q. On the crank carrying the plunger is mounted Vthe cam-wheel or a wheel having la groove wrought into its periphery, whereby the lever S is caused to operate the gate or slide-valve T at proper intervals of timerelatively to the operation of the plunger-t1 e., to open it on the backstroke of the plunger and to close it before the plunger advances. The action of the gate will be more readily understood by referring to Fig. 6, which represents in detail 4a sectional elevation of the same in connection with the tube. The latter is constructed in two parts-viz., the upper tube P, which is hung or secured to the bottom of the clay-reservoir, and the lower tube P', which, by means of its flanges P, is fastened to the'chest or chamber of compression. These two parts are arranged in appositionto each other,so that the ends of the tubes, which are six inches (more or less) apart, shall face each other. The opening betweenthe two tube-sec- Cions is closed by a sleeve a., snugly fitting' the ends of both tube-sections and held in suspension at its anges b by means of the nuts d on the bolts c, the heads of which are fast in the bottom of the clay-reservoir. The flanges of the sleeve, it will be seen, are double and recessed along the interior line of j uneturel to admit the slide-valve or gate and to allow of the play imparted and transmitted to it by means of the cam-wheel R, the lever, and connecting-bars S S. Thus on rotary :motion being'given to the shaft bearing the the cam-wheel the gate will acquire a reciprocating movement within' and across the tube, whereby the supply of clay to the compression-chamber is cut off at regular intervals of time relatively to the operation of the plunger. The quantity of clay thus fed into the chest or compression-chamber varies according to the position or height of the gate in relation to the said chamber, and, according to the quantity of clay fed in the chamber, more or less is required to compress the mass, and whereby a more or less compact and hard brick is produced. It is therefore important to provide for the regulating of the quantity of clay to be fed into the chest, and l have devised two modes of effecting this, either or both of which may be used in the same machine. The one mode already described and referred to and shown in Fig. 6 allows of the vertical adjustment of the gate by simply turning either to the left or to the right the Screw-nuts d, supporting the gateflanges. The other (see Fig. 7) allows of the enlargement of the capacity of the chest by the employment to the chest Q of a movable top plate e, rendered adjustable by means of set-screws working in slots f in the plate e.

From the above it will be seen that the requisite quantity of clayis fed into the chest therein to be compressed and forced out from it in the form 0f bricks undivided in length, and this is done in the following manner-z The plunger Y is prismatical, its cross-section being the same as that of the chest, so that when the plunger is in the position shown in Fig. 3 it fills the entire capacity of the chest-t'. e., its front is flush with the rear end of the forming-tube g. By rotating the crank-shaft U the plunger is drawn back, and when a rotation of one hundred and eighty degrees shall have been imparted to the shaft the plunger is at the extremity of its back-stroke. On further motion being imparted to the shaft the plunger is caused to advance, and the clay in the chest is submitted to a gradually-increasing compression, first within the chest and then, after having acquired a proper degree ofconsistency,in the freed from air, requires less power of conrpression, and produces a more perfectly uniform texture of the compacted mass; This is effected by giving the chest a little more width than the sum of widths of the forming-tubes and by bevelinglaterally the surface in rear of the forming-tubes or facing the chest.,'thus contracting the orifice of the forming-tube h. :In

the accompanying drawings the chest is shown arranged for the production of two bricks at each stroke of the plunger. The forming-tube is consequently divided in two by a partitionplate beveled in the rear, so that the clay iny being forced into the forming-tube is compressed laterally at the outsides and through its middle. It is obvious that the chest and forming-tube may be arranged for the construction of three or more bricks at one stroke;

The forming-tube being of a length more or less that of the intended brick two readilyformed bricks will remain therein during the return-stroke of the plunger and will only be forced out of the forming-tube by their being displaced by another set of bricks ready to be forced out by the neXt succeeding stroke of the plunger, so that at every advance stroke of the plunger the quantity of clay fed into the chest is there compressed, wherebythe mass of clay compressed by the preceding stroke is dislodged, shoved out onto a tray, and held between the said tray and a stationary platen to be trimmed on its ends into bricks.

To the front posts of the machine is xed i a platen t' t', consisting of a plate extending transversely to the machine and secured to the posts by means of brackets 'i'. This platen shaft o, which is provided with suitablev cams or levers p, that are engaged with the studs Z of the said platen. In addition to the movable platen l use a tray n-zl e., a board of the width equal to the length of the bricks or equal to the distance of between the trimmingknives and in length more orless that of the stationaryv platen. should be regulated according to the Weight capable of being borne by the operator and to suit his convenience in carrying the loaded tray and piling -them upon eachother.v To the outer ends of this tray are fixed uprights of a height equal to that of the width of the bricks, so that when the movable platen upon which this tray is 'placed is brought up the said upright will butt against the stationary platen.

From the description of the stationary and movable platen and tray their object will be apparent. The clay compressed into shape is forced out of the forming-tube into the cells, within which it is firmly held, confined by the The length, however,

tray closing against the underside otherwise open. The compacted mass of clay thus held around its longer sides is now ready to be trimmed at its smaller ends. This is effected automatically by the mechanism I shall now proceed to describe. Y

The main shaft gives movement to the shafts Uand F, which carry, respectively, the cam-Wheel R and the pulley q. 'Ihe former is grooved to operate a system of levers r, arranged upon, a rocker 1'., so as to swing the pendulum-rods s back and forth at suitable intervals of time-1I. e., as soon as the bricks are ready to be cut off from the mass of compacted clay, be properly trimmed, and before the plunger shall have advanced sufciently to cause a new brick to be forced out. These pendulum-rods are hung to the axle, upon which are mounted the pulleys t and u, and which derive their motion from the pulley q and impart it to the saws or trimming-knives. The latter consist of radial knives i', set at a distance apart to hug the front and rear sides of the stationary platen upon a hollow spindle w, capable of revolution on an axle uniting the two pendulumrods. The hollow spindle is creased in its middle, and the band passing over the pulley gives it a rapid revolving motion, Which yit in its turn receives from the shaft F the movement which is transmitted over the pulleys q, q', q, and u. The knives, it will be seen, have a compound motion--viz., a rotary one upon their common axes, which have a reciprocating one given it by the swinging of the pendulumrods. The effect of this compound motion to a series of radial cutters constructed as those herein shown is a quick succession of sharp draw cuts, which produce a clean cut and perfect trim upon the clay. The knives being set in position to reach across the front openings of the cells on the stationary platen, they will by their operation cut and trim simultaneously the front and rear end of the brick. After each stroke of the plunger and after the trimming-blades shall have traveled back and forth, the operator eases the bearing of the movable platen upon the stationary one by pushing the lever p toward the machine. lhe tray, together with the just finished bricks, is then lowered, when the operator slides the tray sidewise to bring the adjoiningempty spaces of the tray in apposition to the cells. The lever is then pushed back and the tray brought to bear against the cells, and is then ready to receive a fresh quantity of compacted clay, when the operations are repeated, as above explained. When the tray is full, it is carried away and deposited in a suitable place and an empty tray placed upon the movable platen, and'when this is filled it may be deposited on top of the former, the uprights protecting the brick V formed of yet unburnt clay from injury. The further operation of burning or drying of the brick making no part of this my invention needs no further description.

Having thus fully described my invention and the manner in which the same is or maybe carried into effect, I shall state my claims as f follows 1. The formation of solid building-brick by compressing the clay in and forcing it out of forming-tubes and by subsequently trimming the ends by the means and substantially in the manner as herein described.

2. Gradually condensing the particles of clay and expelling the air therefrom by compressing the clay in a separate chamber previous to its being forced in and through the forming tube by the means substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination with the mechanism hereinabove described for compressing the clay 5. The mode herein described of dividing l transversely the mass of clay compacted into shape bythe employment,in combin ationwith the revolving trimming-knives or their equivalents, of a iixed and movable platen and tray constructed to operate, as set forth, so as firmly to hold the mass of clay to constitute a brick around its longer sides while it is being cut at its ends. A

6. The construction of the hopper with curved grate-bars at the bottom thereof, 'when said bars are provided with projecting teeth shaped and combined with revolving triturating-blades, as described, the Whole arranged substantially in the manner to operate as herein set forth.

In testimonywhereof I have signed my name to this speciiication before two subscribing witnesses.

LEWIS KIRK. Witnesses:

EDW. F. BROWN, A. POLLAK. 

